From Heads Unworthy
by JediMasterQuill
Summary: A destiny rewritten:a year after Fading Echoes, Ivypool has become more embroiled than ever in the schemes of the Dark Forest. She's come too far to recant her dark past, and there's too much to loose by switching sides in the looming war against StarClan
1. Chapter 1

**a|n:: If things had continued on their projected path towards the end of FE, Ivypool (then Ivypaw) would undoubtedly have become the first proper female antagonist in the series. Spurred on by her sense of worthlessness and jealousy, she would have been one of the mastheads of the entire DF vs SC war. The plot would have become more and more complicated, especially for Dovewing, who would have had to choose between her sister, or the fate of the Clans. **

**Of course, that was not meant to be. :'C **

**But at least it makes for a good "what if?" fanfiction idea. This takes place about... let's say a year after Ivypool's initial apprenticeship. Somewhere there, anyway. All of the events from the books after FE are completely null and void. I really, really would love to hear feedback on this, plotwise especially. Thanks for reading! ^_^**

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><p>With the gloom of the Place of No Stars as her Cloak, Ivypool raced through the unfamiliar forest. She was just beyond ShadowClan territory, far away from where a good ThunderClan shecat should be at this time of night. The darkness of the moonless night held no affect on her; as long as she stayed out of the starlight, no one would be able to recognize her, and she had spent more time in near pitch-black environments than anyone else her age had. No one else had trained as hard as the silver-white streak that was flying through the wet underbrush. Where other cats tripped and stumbled in the dark, she bounded over such obstacles with ease. Yes, she felt that she was perfectly agile, which she attributed to a combination of her slim frame and natural ability. The only thing she was worried about at the moment was her speed. She was anything but the fastest cat in her league––a thousand curses upon those WindClanners!––and she needed desperately to improve. And she did, of course. She had come a long way from the stumbling apprentice who could hardly keep up with her mentors. Now she could keep up with them easily, and on a good day, she could give them a run for their money.<p>

But of course, good enough _then_ was never good enough _now_.

The chill autumn air rasped in and out of her sore throat, keeping time with her frantic pawsteps. She leapt over a fallen log, grinning for a moment as she thought of Dovewing, who still had to struggle with her short legs. Thankfully, Ivypool had inherited her father's long, elegant legs and not her mother's mediocre set. But a chill ran down her spine, spurring her onwards. Not risking a glance behind her, she barreled through the ferns, shivering violently as she accidentally brushed a rainwater laden frond. From behind her, she could just barely hear the sounds of several sets of pawsteps, growing steadily louder as their owners crashed through the undergrowth.

_Foxdung_... she swore to herself, narrowing her azure eyes. _I'm going to fail this...and if I fail this, they'll beat me up first, tear me into little pieces, and then scatter my remains from here to RiverClan!_

Ivypool weaved around a mass of nettles. She heard her perusers tear through the ferns that she had passed just moments ago.

Should she turn around now? Was there any point in prolonging the inevitable? She was winded, and her legs were aching horribly at this point. If she could run further on, would she get to the border in time? In her mind's eye, she judged the distance from where she was to the border. No, it was much too far. Since surrender wasn't an option, her only choice was to face them.

Ivypool sprinted ahead for a few paces, then caught sight of a low hanging branch. Without a sound, she propelled herself up, managing to cling onto the rotting bark. For a second, her tail rested in a single shaft of starlight until she noticed and hastily swept it closer to her. There was no need for someone to recognize her for this mission. The musty scent of the tree filled her nostrils, and she stifled a sneeze. A split second later, three shadowy shapes came into view. Narrowing her eyes, she jumped from her perch with a scream, landing squarely on the largest form. The cat writhed around, flipping over onto its back. But Ivypool knew better than to fall for the trick, and she rolled onto the ground, springing back to her paws. She faced the three cats, her lip curling in a snarl and her chest heaving, having still not recovered from her race.

She examined them, taking in their appearances swiftly, as she was trained to do. All three cats were bathed in shadow, larger than her, and had no visible disabilities.

Brilliant.

With a screech, she launched herself at the foremost of the cats, clawing tufts of fur and lacerating its flank. Hissing, the cat retaliates by knocking a mammoth paw to the side of her face, bringing stars to her vision. Trying to overcome her daze, she staggers back after feebly clawing the cat's shoulder, surprisingly drawing blood. The other two cats leap into the fray, pinning Ivypool down.

As she wrests out of their grasp, she coughs, wheezes, rasps. She makes a note to ask Breezepelt on strategies for recovery. A second later, she's crushed to the moist earth under a weight that came up from behind her. So all formalities of traditional battle were to be suddenly abandoned? Not that she minded fighting dirty, but it was just that it confused her even more. Who exactly was she fighting? Not her usual enemies, to be sure.

She screeches, twisting around and aiming blow at the cat's throat. She gasps as her claws leave bloody streaks in the raven fur of her opponent. Too stunned to move, she remains there even as the cat reels back, a watery moan pouring from its throat. The other two cats pause, their eyes wide as their comrade falls to the floor, into the only starlit patch of ground. The cat's fur seems to shimmer and shift before Ivypool's eyes, turning a bright russet, instead of the gloomy black that it had been originally.

_What have I done?_ she gasps, staring at the blood that is beginning to pool around the cat, who she can now recognize as Molepaw, one of her fellow trainees and an apprentice from her Clan. Dovewing's apprentice. Without a second thought, she bounds towards the dying cat, merging with the starlight and spinning around to face her opponents.

"Stop!" she rasps as below her, Moleplaw shifts slightly, gasping for breath. She pays him no mind; she's in hot water already, ignoring direct orders to not, under any circumstance, walk in starlight for this night. Any show of mercy would only bring their wrath upon her.

"Ivypool?" mews one of them, coming forwards. She can't recognize the monotone voice until the cat joins her in the light. The shadows melt off his lean body, revealing a pair of bright gold eyes and sleek ebony fur. Breezepelt. She crouches immediately, offering the formalities due to an older warrior. He bends down, resting his chin upon her head briefly to complete the ritual, and a whisper flies from his mouth in his normal voice; "Good fight, my star."

Ivypool smothers a purr, standing up again, trying to ignore Molepaw's labored breathing. Breezepelt stands next to her as the other cat steps forwards, but not into the starlight. Instead, the shadows disguising its markings and eye color disappear, revealing a muscular tabby with smoldering amber eyes.

"You're not surprised?" he hisses, standing in front of Ivypool, who sinks immediately to a low crouch.

"I...I heard rumors." she stutters, her eyes cast on the blood that's seeping into the soft fur on her paws. She realizes briefly that she can hardly hear Molepaw's breathing. "It was rumored that this "mission" wasn't real, that it was an assessment...not that I believed them! I didn't really expect this, not that much." she adds quickly, stuttering slightly on the last phrase.

Tigerstar looms over her, his eyes narrowed. "Who did you hear this from?" he growls.

Frantically rifling through her thoughts for a better alternative than the truth, she feels warm blood soaking the tip of her tail. "Molepaw," she answers. Tigerstar's eyes narrow even further, and she's left crouching in a pool of blood, her legs aching. Why won't he recognize her, so that she can stand? Out of the corner of her eye, Breezepelt casts her a sympathetic look, but she disregards it for the moment. Technically, this was all his fault. If he hadn't told her those stupid rumors, she would be sufficiently surprised and would probably be on her way home by now.

"I think," drawls Tigerstar, glancing up at the sky. "I think that you're lying, but you happen to be a good liar. So I'll believe you. Good liars are of use to me, just as long as they know who's side they're on."

He meets Ivypool's eye and nods. She stands, resisting the urge to stretch.

"You didn't fail." he adds.

"Oh, that's good!" she lies. Ivypool isn't impressed. She's been told this before and still found herself in Mapleshade's remedial classes, which were something to be feared. Nonchalantly, she glances down at Molepaw's limp form. "So, should we––"

"––Breezepelt, your opinion?" said Tigerstar, cutting Ivypool off. Slightly irked, Ivypool glares at Breezepelt. She can't glare at Tigerstar without risking the loss of an eye, so Breezepelt was a much better alternative.

Casting a quizzical look at Ivypool, Breezepelt answers. "He was weak, and he deserved it. He had a chance to outfight her, or to follow through with the mission and kill her––"

An icy chill runs down Ivypool's spine. Were they really trying to kill her not five minutes ago?

––"so, I think that the logical thing to do would be to leave him here."

"And Ivypool...?"

"Agreed."

Tigerstar smiles, amusement glinting in his eyes. "For a moment there, Ivypool, I thought that you were about to disagree. I see my son has taught you well."

Warmth floods Ivypool at his indirect praise. "He learned from the best," she meowed, struggling to filter the pride from her voice. Next to her, Breezepelt shifts his weight from his right side to his left. The movement isn't gone unnoticed.

"I think that the two of you had best head home. Breezepelt here seems to be aching over from his injuries." he glances at the sky again. "The sun is rising, too. It's a pity. I miss walking on the earth, and just one night a month really doesn't satisfy my desire."

Dismissed, Ivypool and Breezepelt slink back into the shadows, setting off at a lope towards the ThunderClan border. Ivypool thinks about Molepaw. He wasn't such a bad cat, not nearly as annoying as his father or mentor, and he was smart, too. He knew which side to choose from the beginning.

"I'm sorry, Ivypool." murmurs Breezepelt. Ivypool glances at him, hardly able to see him in the darkness. She sniffs, refocusing on the path ahead of them. Her head still aches from the blow she received. "I said that I was sorry."

They leap as one over a fallen log, landing with light feet on the other side. What is Ivypool going to do? It's too suspicious––one warrior out for a night hunt and an apprentice showing up dead. What alibis could she use? Could anyone else in her Clan vouch for her? Normally, Molepaw would be the one who would help explain her random absences, but now he was gone.

"Ivypool..."

They're skirting the edge of ShadowClan's border; they should arrive at ThunderClan's territory in a moment. Maybe she could say that she followed Molepaw out of camp, not knowing where he was going, and then discovered his body. But wait...she didn't have his body with her. Oh, wait, she could probably say that his killers were there, and that there were too many of them to fight, so she ran back to camp. That would work. But still...how to break the news to the Clan?

"Can't you respond?"

The towering pine trees are beginning to give way to the brilliant golds and rubies of the autumn deciduous trees, and the ground underfoot is scattered with leaves. She should come into camp running, out of breath and wild eyed. Maybe she could get the entire Clan to galavant across the forest, leaving the camp defenseless. Then she could find a way to communicate to her mentors in The Place of No Stars and get a battle set up. It would be stilted, of course, and she would come out of it as the heroine of ThunderClan.

_"Answer me!"_ snarls Breezepelt, suddenly leaping towards Ivypool, knocking her down. Screeching in shock, Ivypool pushes him off, knocking him into the dead leaves. He rebounds just as quickly, lunging at her again. Eyes wide, she rears onto her hind legs, meeting him in the air. Is he serious? His paws grip her shoulders, claws extended, and they both try and wrest the other to the ground. The leaves make both of their paws skid and slid, and ultimately, Breezepelt is the first to lose his balance. Ivypool pushes him to the ground, pinning him down.

"What is wrong with you?" she growls, her eyes blazing. For a moment, Breezepelt struggles, hissing, but then gives in, laying limp. "Can't you just...just..."

"Look, just respond when I'm talking to you." he said bluntly, blinking up at her, only a trace of fury left in his eyes. He pauses, then looks away. "I have enough of the silent treatment at home."

Ivypool blinks, recoiling slightly, as though struck in the face. Then she sighs, pressing her cheek to his. "I'm sorry," she whispers, feeling his sweet breath warm her face. "I...I just had a lot on my mind."

He closes his eyes, enjoying their closeness, a comfort that, Ivypool had learned, was absent in his immediate family ever since he left the nursery.

"If only I could see you everyday..." he purrs, gently smoothing the fluffed silver fur along Ivypool's cheekbone with his pale pink tongue. "...and only if your Clan could see us now in this... compromising position."

"Way to ruin a moment." Ivypool rolls her eyes, and unpins Breezepelt. He stands, shaking the fiery leaves from his coal colored pelt. "And anyways, this wasn't that insinuating and I always have an alibi ready."

"Oh really? Give me one."

"I caught you sneaking around our border, so I attacked, but I was hypnotized by your stunning eyes. " A quick glance towards the east told Ivypool that it was time to leave. "Dawn's coming soon, and our Cloaks won't hide our scents for very long. I really have to get going."

"They'll last a little longer," mewed Breezepelt, circling Ivypool. "It's still the night of a new moon, so––"

"I need to get back. Now. I want to see if I can avoid having to make a huge scene so I'm not tagged as Molepaw's murderess."

Breezepelt tilts his head, looking at her inquisitively.

"What?" snaps Ivypool, twitching her tail.

"You seems pretty unfazed by his death. Like you don't even care. You didn't run to him to see if he was still alive, either. It was just to save your own skin. Anyone would think that you'd be a little more...oh, I don't know, _guilty_?"

"Maybe the living nursery-tales we hang out with in our dreams are beginning to rub off on me." she retorted, slightly abashed. It wasn't as though she could just dredge up emotion for no reason and without a situation that prompted it. But now he was going to judge her by it...call her cold and unfeeling in his mind. She was never going to be good enough, not for him, and not for anyone, it seemed. I'm just going to have to keep improving... she thought ruefully.

But to her surprise, Breezepelt just laughed and twined his tail with hers. "Oh, don't sound so putout. It's just another thing that I love about you. I don't need someone who's constantly moaning and groaning about every little mistake. I suppose you do have to go...I'll run with you all the way to your border. Unlike you, I don't even need a lie to use as an excuse. Everyone's used to me coming in and out of the camp at odd hours."

"Then quit talking, and let's go." she purred, running ahead of him into the light of the dawn.


	2. Chapter 2

**a|n:: thanks so much, Koraki, TheBlackFoxx610, and ScourgeloverBirdwing for reviewing! ❤**

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><p>"He would have made an excellent warrior."<p>

"I'll always remember him...he was so kind and quiet..."

"He would always listen to me, I could always be sure of that."

"What a waste."

"...I can't believe he's gone."

"I don't understand...he just...disappeared?"

As the shocked murmurs of her Clan washed over her, Ivypool sighed, shuddering and squeezing her sapphire eyes shut. A comforting tail brushed over her back, and a cat pressed against her flank. She leaned into the warm touch, and brushes whiskers with them. ThunderClan was one for the given moment, bound together by their loss. Her claws sheathed and unsheathed, scratching against the dull stone. It hurts, but she's been hurt more than this, for much longer. And besides, with the new classes that Mapleshade had introduced, she could withstand pain for a long, long time without giving in. But she wasn't sure that she would be able to bear the collective agony of her Clan. The bright morning light, reflecting off of the pelts of her Clanmates, seemed something akin to sacrilege.

"Ivypool. You followed his scent to the border, and then––"

Ivypool cringed, not wanting to be interrogated again. There were so many loops in her story...it was a surprise that they believed her. Their seemingly unconditional trust in Ivypool made her feel just a little bit dishonest (all she was doing was for their good, but still...)

"––Firestar, leave her for a moment. She's hardly had a moment to mourn with you hassling her."

_Thank you, Sandstorm..._ Ivypool thought gratefully.

She opened her eyes, glancing apologetically at Firestar, who stood before her awkwardly, as though he were at a loss. "I can answer your questions," she mewed, her voice a quavery whisper. "I mean...I was the one who––"

"––there's no need." said Firestar, dipping his head. "You told me everything I needed to know."

But the glint in his emerald eyes told Ivypool otherwise. Suddenly, she realized that her leader didn't trust her all the way. Did Dovewing (or Lionblaze or Jayfeather) tell him about Ivypool's "double-agent" role that she was forced to take on? Or was he clued off otherwise...? There was nothing that she could do about it, though. All she could do was mourn with the rest of her Clan, and then––

"What's going on?"

Everyone looked towards the camp entrance in horror, falling silent. Ice ran down Ivypool's spine.

_Oh _no_...she was out in the forest the entire time?_

Dovewing stood in the bracken tunnel, a squirrel at her paws. Her leaf-green eyes were muddled with confusion as she looked left and right, taking in the entire Clan. Sensing that something was terribly wrong, she repeated, "W-what's happening?"

Lionblaze slunk out of the fray of cats, slowly walking towards Dovewing. The small grey shecat met him halfway there, the fur on her spine standing on end. Lionblaze murmured in her ear, his eyes on the dusty ground. The rest of the Clan turned away-no one was able to bear watching the shock fly across the young warrior's face.

"His body..." Dovewing mewed, her voice echoing in the dead-silent hollow. Her eyes were alight with an insane hope. For the first time in her life, Ivypool pitied her sister, her own heart crying out with her pain. But the emotion was dulled with relief––she and Breezepelt hadn't been seen. "But where..."

Lionblaze blinked, his mouth working as he tried to explain to his former apprentice why she was no longer a mentor. He looked pleadingly at Firestar.

"Ivypool followed his scent off of the ShadowClan border," Firestar said, walking towards Dovewing. His steps were almost hobbling-–was it because of grief, or did Ivypool finally realize how old her leader truly was? "There was blood, but...his murderers dragged him off..."

Dovewing's face crumpled, a gasping sob wrenching from her throat. In unison, Poppyfrost, Birchfall, and Whitewing came to their paws, streaked to her, and draped her in soft words of sympathy. Ivypool bit down her envy. Instead of fuming, she scanned the crowd, seeking Jayfeather. She needed to speak with him. Apparently, the skinny medicine cat had the same idea, for his sightless eyes seemed to lock on her the moment she spotted him. A little unnerved––he was blind, he couldn't see her, but sometimes it really felt otherwise––she stood up and made her way through the throng towards him. Sensing her approach, he stood up, jerking his head in the direction of his den. Quietly, the two of them left their Clan and retreated into the dark recesses of the den.

"Your story, I don't believe it." Jayfeather mewed frankly, gesturing for her to take a seat. She crouched and sighed with what she hoped would pass for resignation.

"Good. Then you're the only one who has half a brain here." she said. "What really happened...promise you won't tell the Clan?"

"I have to tell Dovewing and Poppyfrost at the least," he said, wrapping his tail around his paws. "But if this concerns what I think it does, then I won't tell Poppyfrost, though she has a right, if anyone, to know."

"I lied all the way about the location. I found the blood by the WindClan border, a little ways past the Moonpool."

"What were you doing all the way over _there_ in the dead of night?"

"I couldn't sleep. I wanted to hunt. Anyway––"

"––that's not part of our territory, you _idiot_, you can't hunt _there_. Next thing you know WindClan will be at our camp, screeching about trespassers."

Ivypool bristled, glaring daggers at the impertinent grey cat. She took enough insults in her sleep without him chiming in with his two cents! "Would you just shut up and listen? Alright. So I was over there, and I saw his blood. That's it."

There was a long pause as Jayfeather narrowed his eyes, leaning towards her. Ivypool shuddered––was he reading her mind?

"That's not it and you know it, Ivypool." he said at last. "There's something else that you need to tell me."

"Why don't you just trespass into my mind and make sure?" she hissed, making her voice sound as pressured as she could. Inside, she was laughing. Everything these days seemed to just play into her paws without having to do a thing. "You could just read it, invade my privacy and steal my thoughts and then you'd have it all!"

His eyes narrowed to slits of ice. "Ivypool, you know that I wouldn't _dare _betray _anyone _ like that unless I absolutely had to! And this, this is not one of those times. You know that you need to tell me, Ivypool, you know what's at stake."

Ivypool inhaled a single shuddering breath. "I...it's just that...it's like they don't trust me anymore, like they _know_ I'm telling the three of you all of this...where will your information come from _then_, Jayfeather, if your spy is completely blocked out of everything? And then what am I there for? To get beaten and abused every night because there's no way out?"

Jayfeather sighed, flicking his tail and resting it on her paw. He spoke, and this time, his voice was much gentler. "Just tell me one last detail. Just one."

"There were no scents. I'm not sure...I think that this is one of the things that they won't tell me, but somehow, they know how to hide their scents and trail."

It killed her to tell him about the new Cloak that Tigerstar had invented (how he did, however, was completely beyond her) but it was a necessary sacrifice. She needed just one bit of proof to solidify her story, and now Jayfeather had it.

As Jayfeather narrowed his eyes again, musing to himself, Ivypool studied him in the half-light of the den. The resemblance between him and Breezepelt was evident in his lanky frame and sleek pelt, but the medicine cat bore more of a resemblance to his ThunderClan relatives. In his almond shaped eyes she could see Cloudtail peering out, and he had Sandstorm's plumed tail, dyed silver. His small, almost delicate paws were obviously from Leafpool, as were the rounded contours and arcs of his face. Nothing was too remarkable, nothing would make the shecats gaze dreamily at him as he walked past (just as well, being a medicine cat and all). Ivypool decided that while her Clan was a nice enough bunch, they couldn't beat WindClan in terms of attractiveness.

_...I suppose that I'm not the only cat in the Clan who's thought that at one point..._ she realizes. A g_ood thing or a bad thing?_

"So we can't track his murderers, or even discover their identities." said Jayfeather. Ivypool blinked, shaken out of her thoughts. Jayfeather was on his paws now, pacing back and forth in the confines of the den. She noticed that he walks-no, strides-exactly like Firestar did when he was just a few moons younger. "Honestly, there's not much that we can do. Can you think of anyone who might have had a motive to murder the poor apprentice?"

"No, of course not." she sniffed. "But there might have been someone who wanted him dead for personal reasons. I don't _know_ anyone who might've done it, but they weren't supposed to. I'll ask around tonight and see if anyone's getting punished.""

"Maybe they wanted him dead to hurt someone else..." muttered Jayfeather. Ivypool sighed, a little irked at how Jayfeather disregarded her. "I can't think of anyone else who has a really bad grudge against ThunderClan would be Breezepelt...Molepaw was murdered by the WindClan border...and killing someone would be his style, he's tried it before a ton of times, and he's just that low to murder an––"

"––he is _not_!" hissed Ivypool. Her sudden rage melted away as dread took its place. Why, _why_ couldn't she learn to keep a closed mouth? Her mouth was dry as Jayfeather faced her, his ears high on his head and pricked in her direction.

_Where's your alibi now? _ she imagined Breezepelt sneering at her. He was one to derive amusement from someone else's discomfort, and he would probably kill to see her now.

"Jayfeather," mewed a voice from the entrance. Ivypool whipped around to see the newcomer, while Jayfeather merely flicked a single ear towards the entrance, keeping his gaze focused in Ivypool's direction. Briarlight was dragging herself into the den, slightly distraught. "There you are––I was looking for you all over! And I was-oh, hello Ivypool. If you're busy, I can come back a little later..."

Jayfeather sighed, padding forwards to greet Briarlight, swiftly licking her ear. "Ivypool was just here for some poppy seeds-she'll leave once I find some." He slunk back into the den, flicking Ivypool's shoulder with his tail in a "we'll talk about this later" sort of way. Ivypool shot a glare at him, annoyed. She knew what the poppy seeds meant; she was to go back to the Place of No Stars. Didn't he realize that _no one_ would be there at this time of day? She'd be alone for hours, with just the deceased as her company. Sure, some of them were fine to talk to, but she was getting sick of listening to the same old "I want REVENGE on my Clan/family/friends-turned-enemies/etc" rant from different mouths.

"Oh, alright." breathed Briarlight. She turned her gold gaze to Ivypool, concern drenching her words. "That must have been so awful, Ivypool, just finding his trail like that...if you need to talk to anyone, I'm here."

"I..." Ivypool stuttered, surprised and touched.

"Poppy seeds." Jayfeather tossed the small packet of seeds at Ivypool, and they landed at her paws with a rattle. The warm, fuzzy feeling that had suddenly filled Ivypool vanished as quickly as it came. She pushed past Jayfeather, careful to knock him into the briars, and streaked to the warriors den. A few cats murmured inquiringly at her, but she did her best to look worn out and depressed. Again, her act succeeded.

The den was soft and warm––someone had gotten the apprentices to replace all of the old bedding with new moss. She crept to her usual spot at the edge of the circle, far away from the center. Licking up the seeds, she curled up and fell asleep.

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><p><strong>a|n:: pssh...mediocre ending, mediocre beginning, mediocre beginning. not too pleased with the way this turned out~ <strong>


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